Valve control for automatic sprinkler systems



W. 0. REALS.

VALVE CONTROL FOR AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER SYSTEMS.

APPLICAION FILED FEB. 17, 192!- Patnted Oct. 17, 1922.

Patented ct. il?, i922.

WILLiso rennes; 0F Urrea, NEW YORK.

VALVE CONTROLEUR AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER SYSTEIVIS.

Application filed February 17, 1921. Serial No. 445,677.

T 0 all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known thatflV'inLis O. RnALs, of' Utica, `in the county of Oneida, in the State of' New York, has invented new and useful Improvements in Valve Controls for AutomaticSprinkler Systems, of which the following, taken inconnection With the accompanying drawings, is a full,`clear,` and exact' description.

This invention relates to certain improve' upon the reduction of the air pressure inv the system by leakage or by the releasing'ot one or ymore of the sprinkler head valves due lto heat in the immediate vicinity thereof in case of fire.

Under these conditions, particularly after" a long vperiod of the closing. of the valve, there is'alWays more or less liability of the valve adhering. toiits seat by corrosion, accumulation of scale and other causes which may render the valve inoperative orunresponsive and the main object of the invention is to reduce toa minimum this possible contingency and at the same'time to afford a clear passage for the fire extinguishing fluid to said system when the valve is opened by the reduction of air pressure from any cause inany part of the distributing system.

Another objectV is to employ a plurality of coaxial valve seats in axially spaced relation (sco-operating with a ball valve to form an .intervening vent chamber to which a suitable signal or alarm may be connected for the purpose of indicating any abnormalconditions in the relative air and Water' pres*-y sures on opposite sides of the valve.

A further object is to provide the valve case With a lateral branch passage extending a sufficient distance to one side of the Water and air ports to permit the passage of the ball valve therein and establish an `obstructedA passage for the fire extinguishing fluid from the-*Water inlet port to the distributing'system.

A still further object is to provide means for guiding the valve 'from its normally closed position into said chamber and to uti liZey a portion of said guiding means as a buffer'to avoid injurious contact of' the ball valve with kthe Walls of the valve case;

Other objectsand uses relating to the spe# ciiicV parts of the valve mechanism Will be brought out in thefollowing description;

In' the drawings:

Fig. l is a longitudinal, vertical, sectional viewof myinvention;

Figs. Qand 3 are'sectional views taken in theplanes of lines 2 2 andS-S, Fig. l.

As illustrated', the valve case is made up of a series of," in this instance, three hollow sections,'l, 2 and 3 forming a valvechamber -4-'-, having coaxial ports 5-- and ffnearr one side thereof, the-port 5' serving as an inletl 'for'water or other' fire extinguishing fluid under pressure from anysuitable source of supply, Whilethe'port 6'- is connectedto thedry pipe distributingsystemcontainingthe usual sprinkler heads and in which air is normally maintained under pressure sufficient to normally close the valve,v Which controls communication be# tween said ports.

The valvecase'fleis provided with a lateral' extension of Which the section 5;- forms a part, said extension beingv Wholly to one side of, and Ibetween the ports -5'- and (3- and forms a'branch chamber "7 F of suiiicient size to receive a bally valve -8 therein when opened lWithout obstructing-in the least thefree passage of the Water from the port '-54- to the port'-6-, the lateral length` of the chamber being considerably greater than vthe diameter of the valve.

The adjacent-l ends of the case sectionsy -land-Q meet 1n approximatelyv thel horizontal plane of' Vthe center of the valve 2S- When'tlielatter is closcdand are secur'ed together by bolts -9 With an inter# posed packing-orgasket l0- to prevent leakage;

The adjacent ends-of the'sections -lfand -3 meetin a substantially vertical plane some distance to oneside of the ports 5fand -6- and `Vare'secured together by bolts-ll- With'interposed packings or gaskets'v '-12- for reducing the liability of leak age, the outer end of the section -f3 being provided v4'Witha handhole l3- normally closed by a plate 11iwhich is held in operativeposition by bolts -'l5 The-use lofE a ball or spherical valve "-8 is.` preferable by reasonofthe fact 'that all portions of its surface'is available for con tact with one or more seats and that it is free to seat itself against all points of the valve seat or seats to form a tight' joint therewith, said ball and its seats being preferably made of aluminum alloy or other non-corrodible material to reduce to a minimum the liability of adhering one to the other. A pair of rings -l6 and -17- are mounted in vertically spaced relation within the, lower case section -2-1 coaxial with the axis of the'ports -5- and -6- to form separate seats forv the ball valve -8., which when closed cooperates with the rings 16% and -17-n to forman intervening vent chamber -18- having a pipe H19- leading therefrom for connection w ith any suitable alarm or signal adapted to be operated by water pressure or air pressure to indicate any leakage of water or air between the valve and either of the seats -lfand -17*, the upper valve seatcoacting with the ball to close communication between the vent chamber #18- and air pressure port 64, while the valve seat 16u cooperates with the ball valve to cut oi' communication between the ventchamber -l8-- andl water pressure port -5-.

The lower valve seat or ring D-l6-- is preferably threaded and screwed into a socket in the section M2- for vertical adjustment if necessary but the upper valve seat or ring -l7- is more or less oating in that it is yieldingly mounted4 upon a corrogated diaphragm orring -"20-, which may be of spring copper and, in this instance form a part of the packing or gasket -lO-f.

The upper ring or valve seat 4.7- is of slightly less internal diameter than the ternall diameter of the ball valve -,8-- so as to engagethe periphery of the ball ljust below the horizontal diameter thereof with a relatively sharp wedging lit whereas the lower ring or seat -16- is of considerablyr less internal diameter' than that of the upper ring -l7 to engage the periphery of a relatively small segment of the ball at the under side thereof with a less degree of wedging action, it being understood that the Y diameters of the seat engaged by the ball corresponding to the` diameter of the segment of said ball at the plane of engage-v ment of the seats therewith, and that the fact that theupper seat is free to yield, enables the ball to positively engage both seats under the exc-ess pressure of the air, acting upon a surface area of the ball considerably'` -greater than that acted upon by the Water pressure at the port -5-.

As a further means for yieldingly sup-` porting the upper valve seat or ring -17, I provide a series of light coil springs -21- mounted in suitable sockets in the lower case section -2- to exert upward pressure upon the ring -17- at equally spaced points throughout the circumference of the ring,

the tension of said spring being adjusted by' screws F522- which are also mounted 1n the vcase section -2 to engage the lower endl of the springs.

It is, of course, evident that if the air pressure in the port -6- and chambers -4- and -7- should be suddenly relieved, as for example, by the opening of one of the sprinkler head valves due to fire in theiminterior diameter to permit the free passage of the ball therethrough without contact with the walls of the case -1-, said cage consisting, in this instance, of lengthwise wires -2lfollowing closely the walls ofy the chambers 4fand *7 across the inner end of the air pressure port -6-, and held 1n fixed spaced relation by circumferential tie-wires -25- to which the adjacenty portionsof the lengthwise wires -24- are Y secured by spot welding or other fastening means, said lengthwise wires being locatedl within the circumferential tie-wires a'25- to afford unobstructed runways for thevvalve in transit from its closed position to its eX- treme open position at the end of the branch chamber -'7-.

One of the circumferential tie-wires is disposedy in a vertical plane Vnearly coincident with that of the meeting faces of the case sections -l and -Q-vand is secured by spot welding or other equivalent fastening means to the gasket -l2- which may be made oi copper or other suitable metal and serves a means for holding the cage in fixed relation to the valve case except as the wires may yield slightly under prese sure of the ball inpassing from its closed to its open position.

The ends of the lengthwise wires -Qliw beyond the upright tiefwire -25- convergel toward the eXtreme outer end of the branch,

chamber-- around a circle of considerably less diameter than that of the ball to form a series of spring buffers Q6- which serve to check thev momentum of the ball when thrown into its extreme openposition thereby additionally preserving the ball against .impairment by contact with the ad jacent end of the valve case.

The lower rside or wall of the branchchamber -7- and vadjacent portion of the cage m23- extends upwardly from the meeting faces of the case sections -1-f and 2- and. then returns downwardly and upwardly to form a dash-pot 427m containing a small quantity of water trapped therein to additionally protect the ball against impairment by preventing` its lcontact with the lower side oft the valve case.

A suitable drain pipe 28m leads 'from the dash-pot -27- and. is provided with a valve 29 which isnormally closed but may be opened at will to draw ott' the water from the branch chamber M-7- whenever desired.

The joint between the valve m8 and upper valve sea-t 1T- may be normally covered by a liquid seal 30- to additionally reduce the liability of leakage of air passing said joint.

In operation assuming that the valve -8 is closed against both ot the seats w`16- and -17- by the excess air pressure acting upon the upper side ot the valve against the lower water pressure at the bottom. ot the valve, then ill any one ot the sprinkler head valves in the dry pipe system should be opened by heat due to hre in' an immediate vicinity thereof, the air pressure would be immediately relieved, thereby allowing the water pressure to throw the valve trom its closed position to its ex treme open position in the outer end ot the chamber llwith the assurance that it would reach that position by reason ot the guide wires ot the cage -23-, and at the same time a portion of the water or air or both would be forced under pressure through the pipe --l9- ot the signal or alarm to indicate the presence ot lire or some other abnormal condition which would relieve the air pressure in the pipe system.

It is also evident that it the joint between the valve -8- and either of the seats -16-M or -17- should leak, it would al" low either the water or air to enter the chamber -}8- and pipe 19- and would thereby operate the signal or alarm to warn the attendant that repairs were necessary. ln order to remove the ball or cage for re pairs or other purposes, it Ais simply necessary to remove the bolts -ll and case section -3- which would permit the cage 3- to be withdrawn through the adjacent open end of the section *kafter which the ball could also be readily re moved through the same opening.

Or if desired, the lower case section -2 may be removed by the removal. of the bolts Q, thus permitting the valve seats and ball to be withdrawn therewith after which the ball -8- and its valve seats 16- and such may cage port movement ot the valve -8-, said detent being free to swing in the direction. of open movement of the valve to allow the latter to passbeyond the detent to its extreme open position at the outer end of the chamber 474' but is provided with a shoulder B2- for engagement with the` adjacent wall of the valve `case to hold it against movement in the opposite direction from its normal position and thereby to restrain the open valve from returning to its seat from any cause until the detent is tripped.

lVhat l claim is:

l. A main controlling valve for dry pipe sprinkler system comprising a valve case having opposite coaxial ports and a valve chamber extending wholly to one side of and between said ports, valve seats in spaced relation adjacent one or' the ports to form an intervening` vent chamber, and a valve seated on both valve seats and normally closing communication between both ports and the vent chamber.

2. A main controlling valve for dry pipe sprinkler system comprising a valve case having opposite coaxial ports and a valve chamber extending wholly to one side of and between said ports, valve seats in spaced relation adjacent one otl the ports to form an intervening vent chamber, and a valve seated on both valve seats, and normally closing communication between both ports and the vent chamber, one of said valve seats being movable relatively to the other valve seat to enable the valve to seat snugly on both seats.

3. A main controlling valve tor dry pipe sprinkler system comprising a valve case having opposite coaxial ports and a valve chamber extending wholly to one side of and between said ports, valve seats in spaced relation adjacent one of the ports to form an intervening vent chamber, and a valve seated on both valve seats, and normally closing communication between both ports and the vent chamber, and a cage tor guidingl the valve in its movement from the seats into the laterally extending chamber.

et. A. main controlling valve tor dry pipe sprinkler systems comprising a valve case having opposite coaxial ports and a valve chamber extending wholly to one side of and between said ports, valve seats in spaced relation adjacent one of the ports to form an intervening vent chamber, a valve seated on both valve seats and normally closing communication between both ports and the vent chamber and a relief pipe extending from the vent chamber for connection t0 a signal to indicate the unseating of the valve from either seat.

5 A valve mechanism for dry pipe sprinkler system comprising a valve case having opposite coaxialports and a valve chamber extending laterally from said ports a disllO tance greater than the diameter of the valve, valve seats Within the ease coaxial with one of said ports and spaced apart to form an intervening vent chamber, a passage leading from said vent chamber for connection to a lsuitable alarm, a valve engagngboth of said seats and movable into the lateral eX- tenson of the valve chamber, and a guide cage for said valve extending into said chamber and having its outer end contracted' l0 to form a bufer for lthe valve to prevent Contact of said Valve With the valve oase.

In Witness whereof I have hereuntov set my hand this 5th day of February, 1921. WILLS O. REALS.

Witnesses: H. E. CHASE,

l M. R. COOKE. 

